#3907
British Rail Class 311
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company· from 1967· class of 19 three-car electric multiple units
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 311092 at Glasgow Central: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 311 alternating current (AC) electric multiple units (EMU) were built by Cravens at Sheffield from 1966 to 1967. They were intended for use on the line from Glasgow Central to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, which was electrified in 1967.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 59 years ago, in 1967.
- 660 kW is about 8 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 22 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 60.7 m long: about 13 cars parked nose to tail.
- Seats 236: 5 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Served for 23 years (1967–1990).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1967
- in service from
- 1967
- retired
- 1990
- status
- retired
- number built
- 19
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Cravens Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
- operators
- British Rail, Scottish Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- 660 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- OHLE
- wheel arrangement
- 2′2′+Bo′Bo′+2′2′
- formation
- 3 cars per unit:, DTSO-MBSO-BDTSO
- length
- 60.7 m
- weight
- 129 t
- capacity
- 236 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1414434, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 311 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.